


Tell Me How You Really Feel

by BuddyTheMeanPeacock



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Flustered Claude von Riegan, M/M, very minor mention of others - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuddyTheMeanPeacock/pseuds/BuddyTheMeanPeacock
Summary: “You wish for me to tell you my opinion of you, my lord? Very well.”Retainer Swap AU. Hubert speaks aloud his true feelings for his liege.
Relationships: Claude von Riegan/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 14
Kudos: 97





	Tell Me How You Really Feel

**Author's Note:**

> Ayy, new ship to write for! Just a kind of catch-up since there's no background story for this (just a general idea lol), this story is set in a world where Hubert has been Claude's retainer since they were both fairly young (I'd say ballpark 10/13) so Hubert knows Claude's true origins and all that. That's about the biggest thing needed to be clear lol, hope y'all enjoy!

Hubert von Vestra is not a man to be taken by surprise.

He cannot afford to be; his liege’s safety is of far too much importance to allow himself to be lax in his awareness. Simpleminded fools who aim for His Highness’ demise are too numerous, too persistent, for him to allow any misstep. Hubert may have not been able to assure Claude’s safety while he had lived under a different sky, different station, different name, but that is simply all the more reason to be diligent of the land currently blessed enough to be under His Highness’ boots.

So when he is called to speak of plans with his liege he is ready, as he always is, with his reports from spies and of his own findings.

“Edelgard seems to have further fortified Fort Merceus, after her defeat in Gronder. The wounds she acquired were severe enough for her to fall back all the way to Enbarr; the Fort is her last line of defense before the city itself.”

“Hmm… how is the way from Gronder to Merceus? Have there been any reports of attacks in the area?”

“Nothing more than the occasional Demonic Beast pack, but it is too infrequent and packs too feral for them to be of the Empire.”

“Who has been deployed to Merceus? Given its importance I can only think of one general with enough prowess to be trusted with it…”

“It is the Death Knight, my liege. Along with Caspar von Bergliez and Linhardt von Hevring.”

“Caspar and Linhardt? Hmm… Caspar is a fine enough fighter, from what I remember back in the academy. No doubt he’s gotten better since then. But he’s too reckless; there’s no way he can lead any battalion with ease. Linhardt’s a good healer, but his laziness and lack of authority also make him a poor choice for leadership, and neither have the fear factor of the Death Knight to make up for those shortcomings.” Claude places his elbows on the table as he leans forwards, his brow scrunched in thought. “Merceus is too valuable to put anyone short of the best of their area as high-ranking officers, so why risk it falling due to poor management? Have those two gotten over their weaknesses in the five years? Are they hoping the fort’s natural defenses will be enough to make up for them if they haven't? But Merceus is way too important to just leave it up to faith like that…” 

It is a beautiful sight, truly, to watch his liege’s mind at work. Leaving no stone left unturned, questioning every step the enemy has taken; it’s no wonder the Alliance, so paltry in its troops, has been able to push the Empire to an inevitable defeat.

“You have no equal, Your Highness,” Hubert says.

The words give Claude pause, a start interrupting his thoughts. He sighs as he looks up to Hubert. “One, I told you not to call me that.” He leans back in his chair, a coy smile spreading on his lips. “And c’mon Hubert. How long have we known each other now? And we’re in private on top of that.”

Hubert’s brow furrowed at the statement. “What do you mean by that?”

“I _mean_ that you don’t have to keep showering me with praise.” Claude spreads his arms wide. “Tell me how you really feel! I’m a big boy, I can take it.”

“...What?”

“Hubert, you’ve been telling me I’m great ever since we met. I _know_ you can’t possibly _actually_ think so highly of me.” He crosses his arms. “I’ve been dying to know what you _really_ think of me.”

There is a moment of silence between the two of them as Claude’s words settle in Hubert’s mind. He has always had a feeling that Claude had never truly believed the words Hubert had unfailingly spoken to him; this was merely confirmation of a fact he already knew. And now was the time to clear the air once and for all.

“You wish for me to tell you my opinion of you, _my lord_? Very well.” 

He looks into the magnificent green eyes before him and speaks his mind.

“Your intellect is, without question, the highest caliber of all of Fodlan. In a match of wits, you are supreme, a god amongst men. What would be a fault in terms of your refusal to deploy more… _red_ means of accomplishing your goals is made up for by the sheer weight of your mind. 

“Your bowmanship, your eye, your unmatched wyvern riding prowess, all make you an indomitable force in battle. Where other fools may rely on brute strength or heavy armors to trudge them through a skirmish, you combine two seemingly insoluble fighting methods to become both nigh untouchable and nigh unavoidable.

“How you handle the fools of the Roundtable is nothing sort of art, my lord. Your patience, your authority, your confidence, you cut through the senseless drivel of those mewling pigs with the expertise of a chef cutting off the useless fat of the meat he’s given. You’ve bent them to your whims for five years and waited for your chance to enter the war prepared, not rushing through to battle at the first chance but not groveling at the Empire’s feet. 

“If I must be blunt with you, my lord, you are simply in a league far above those of your supposed peers. The difference is indescribable.”

Another moment of silence, though this one strangely charged. Hubert realizes, suddenly, he had been so engrossed with his thoughts that he had not truly seen his liege’s face.

And when he did...

Hubert von Vestra is not a man to be taken by surprise; he cannot afford to be. But then, no one can live without exceptions to their life. 

Claude’s face was red. In its entirety.

He looked at Hubert with such shock, his eyes wide, his mouth agape, that it took Hubert aback. In all of the years he has served Claude, through all of the circumstances they have landed in, he has never seen His Highness so… so…

He cannot bring himself to even think the word.

“You…” Claude’s voice snaps him out of his strange thoughts. “You actually _do_ think so well of me?”

“Of course.” There was no hesitation.

It is unlike Claude to look so… sheepish. It is strange to even imagine describing him as such, but it is the best word to use for how he looked away from Hubert, red-faced still if not redder than before. Hubert opened his mouth, to apologize for causing such offense-

And then Claude looked back at him and smiled. A small, unsure thing, but genuine all the same.

“Thanks,” he says simply.

Hubert von Vestra is not a man to be taken by surprise. He cannot afford to be.

But the sight before him, the word that danced in the air before reaching his ears… there was nothing he could do to be prepared for something so small yet so striking. Nor for the feeling of _something_ within him, so different from the myriad of emotions he has always felt within the presence of Cla- of Khalid.

Before he could dwell longer on such somethings Claude clears his throat, the red still present but not nearly so prominent. “What else do your reports say?” 

Back to business. Yes, this is better. They know this dance far better than the one that tripped and tumbled them not a minute ago.

He ignores the something in him and follows Claude’s lead, as he always has.

**Author's Note:**

> Hubert's an odd one to write for lmao


End file.
